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The Year of Empress Elisabeth – Sisi & Rudolf (Part two)

Read part one here.

In 1868, Empress Elisabeth gave birth to a fourth child – a daughter named Marie Valerie. Unlike with Sophie (who died young), Gisela and Rudolf, Elisabeth kept Marie Valerie close to her, and as a result, the siblings did not become particularly close. In fact, Rudolf was extremely jealous of Marie Valerie and was unkind to her as a child. Marie Valerie became afraid of her elder brother. Rudolf became an isolated child, even more so when Gisela married Prince Leopold of Bavaria in 1873 when she was just 16 years old. A newspaper reported that “the most touching sight was offered by Crown Prince Rudolf; he wept increasingly and was unable either to stem the flow of tears or to suppress his sobs, even though he visibly struggled to control himself.”1 Marie Valerie wrote that even if she was in the same palace as Rudolf, she would often not see him for months.

In 1880, Rudolf became engaged to the 16-year-old Princess Stéphanie of Belgium. She later wrote, “I never guessed how heavy I should find the chains he (her father) was forging for me. I had no inkling that I was already being betrayed. Not until months later did I learn that my future bridegroom had not come to Brussels alone, but accompanied by his mistress, a certain Frau F.”2 Empress Elisabeth heard of the engagement via telegram while she was in London. Her lady-in-waiting commented, “Thank God that is not a disaster.” To which the Empress cynically replied, “Pray God that it is not.”3 Elisabeth travelled home via Brussels to be able to congratulate her son and his fiance in person. They waited to greet her on the platform of the station, and Elisabeth’s lady-in-waiting later wrote, “He (Rudolf) literally threw his arms around her neck – kissed her hands over and over, and then came the bride – young, sparkling, uninformed, a badly dressed child… The Empress bent forward, embraced her – kissed the little one, and that one looked up to her beautiful mother-in-law with undisguised admiration, and her bright-red little face looked happy and merry.”4 The visit lasted just four hours and was mostly spent at the palace at breakfast.

The wedding took place on 10 May 1881. After the formal ceremony, Stéphanie and Rudolf changed into their travelling clothes. They travelled to Laxenburg, where they were to spend their honeymoon – the carriage ride was completely silent. They arrived in rooms that had not been done up, making Stéphanie feel even more unwanted. She later described her wedding night in her memoirs, “What a night! What torments, what horror! I had not had the ghost of a notion of what lay before me but had been led to the altar as an ignorant child. My illusions, my youthful dreams, were shattered. I thought I should die of my disillusionment.”5

Once back in Vienna, Stéphanie rarely saw her husband, and he often went shooting. Despite not being present much, he was a controlling man, and he often read the letters Stéphanie wrote to her parents before allowing them to be posted. He gave orders that no one was to come into her chambers while he was not there. Empress Elisabeth – who detested official functions – handed much of her responsibilities to Stéphanie. Overall, Elisabeth strongly disliked her new daughter-in-law and the Belgian court she came from. Elisabeth wrote of Stéphanie in her poems and described her as a “mighty bumpkin” with “long, fake tresses” and “cunningly watchful eyes.”6 If Elisabeth wanted to hurt Stéphanie’s feelings, she intentionally alluded to her aunt Charlotte, who had once been married to Franz Joseph’s brother Maximilian and was now wasting away in a castle in Belgium. Stéphanie was highly critical of Elisabeth’s lack of a sense of duty, which only made matters between them worse.

On 2 September 1883 – after a gruelling labour lasting 26 hours – Stéphanie gave birth to a daughter named Elisabeth. To Rudolf’s disappointment, the baby was not an heir to the throne, and Stéphanie broke down in tears. She was named Elisabeth for the sainted ancestress of the House of Arpad – and coincidentally also the name of the current Empress.

Their duties soon took them away from their young daughter. Stéphanie and Rudolf visited Constantinople and Bulgaria, followed by visits to Carinthia, Carniola, Tyrol, Albania, Greece and Montenegro. They returned to Belgium to celebrate Stéphanie’s father’s 50th birthday in 1885. The following year, both Rudolf and Stéphanie became ill. Stéphanie was in bed for weeks, and doctors diagnosed her with peritonitis. Both recovered, and wishes were renewed for Stéphanie to give birth to an heir. Stéphanie was allowed to take it easier that year in hopes of conceiving. However, the Crown Prince was often not with her, and his restlessness took him elsewhere. When she saw him again, she found him looking very unhealthy.

Stéphanie began to believe he had moved away from her completely. By then, Rudolf had probably been infected with a venereal disease, and he, in turn, had infected Stéphanie. It was most likely gonorrhoea, and two gynaecologists came to examine her. She then learned that “the Crown Prince was responsible for my complaint.”7 Gonorrhoea had caused pelvic inflammation and had destroyed her fallopian tubes. She would never again conceive a child. Rudolf began to depend on a dangerous mixture of drugs to alleviate the painful symptoms of gonorrhoea. When Elisabeth learned of the difficulties in Rudolf and Stéphanie’s marriage, her first instinct was to do nothing. She told her lady-in-waiting, “Sometimes I have wondered what I could do. But I am reluctant to interfere, for I myself suffered so unspeakably under my mother-in-law that I do not wish to incur the reproach of a similar fault.”8 It is also unlikely that Elisabeth knew of the extent of Rudolf’s illness. Stéphanie, who had spent many years ignoring Rudolf’s affairs, now took a lover of her own.

Part three coming soon.

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The Year of Empress Elisabeth – Sisi & Rudolf (Part one)

On 21 August 1858, at Schloss Laxenburg, Empress Elisabeth gave birth to her third child and the much-longed-for male heir – Crown Prince Rudolf. Elisabeth received a triple strand of pearls worth 75,000 guldens from her husband. On his very first day of life, Rudolf received the Order of the Golden Fleece, and he was made a colonel in the army. The birth had been difficult, and the Empress recovered slowly. As she was not allowed to breastfeed him, she suffered from milk congestion and fevers. For weeks, Elisabeth remained feverish, and Rudolf was taken under the wing of his grandmother, Archduchess Sophie. As she remained in ill health, her mother and sisters were summoned to cheer her. They brought along her childhood physician, but no official diagnosis was made.

Franz Joseph tried to reassure his wife, “I beg you, my angel, if you love me, do not grieve so much, take care of yourself, distract yourself as much as you can, go riding, drive with caution and care, and preserve for me your dear precious health so that when I come back, I will find you quite well and we can be quite happy.”1 Elisabeth went on a starvation diet, rode for hours every day and smoked. Elisabeth’s fighting with her mother-in-law increased during this time, and the first rumours of Franz Joseph’s infidelity began to appear. Elisabeth spiralled out of control and began to provoke those around her. Her health had remained fragile since the birth of Rudolf and had become so precarious that her doctor prescribed a warmer climate. The exact nature of her disease is still obscure and was probably a combination of things. Despite the diagnosis, Franz Joseph went hunting and did not return until early November. Elisabeth chose to go to Madeira, and Sophie wrote, “She will be separated from her husband for five months, and from her children, on whom she has such a beneficial influence and whom she really raises so well. I was devastated at the news.”2

After six months away, Elisabeth saw her husband again in Trieste in May 1861. They returned to Vienna, where it took only four days until Elisabeth’s symptoms returned. In June, she was diagnosed with galloping consumption and was advised to travel to Corfu. The prognosis was rather poor, and the family believed that they would not see her again. She was joined in Corfu by her brother-in-law Max and her sister Helene also made the journey to Corfu. In the winter, Franz Joseph allowed their children to go to Venice, where they could meet with their mother. After nearly a year of being in Corfu and Venice, Elisabeth travelled on to Reichenau an der Lax and then to Bad Kissingen to take the cure. Rudolf was growing up without a mother, and he became especially close to his sister Gisela. The relationship with her children was at a low point, with Elisabeth often away from court, ostentatiously for health reasons. Nevertheless, Elisabeth often wrote to the children at first and signed off with, “Think of your mama often.”3

Gisela was known to have a robust constitution but was described as “of average abilities.”4 Meanwhile, Rudolf was considered to be extremely intelligent and precocious. Both were subjected to a strict learning programme, and Gisela received lessons in arithmetic, writing, reading and French. The two were separated after Rudolf’s sixth birthday, and Rudolf was given an all-male household. From then on, Rudolf had a tutor who also undertook his military training. Like his mother, Rudolf was very sensitive to the demands made of him, which often made him physically ill. The tutor wrote, “His Imperial Highness is physically and mentally more advanced than other children of his age, but rather vivacious and nervously irritable, therefore his intellectual development must be sensibly subdued, so that that of the body can keep pace.”5 Rudolf was drilled to the point of exhaustion with military exercises. After a year of this, Rudolf was seriously ill, though Sophie did not make the connection with the rigorous training.

Rudolf himself was too shy to complain of his treatment to his father. It was one of the tutor’s subordinates, Joseph Latour, who took his concerns to Elisabeth. Elisabeth, who had little interest in her son’s education thus far, took action. She later wrote, “I had to find a remedy; gathered up all my courage when I saw that it was impossible to prevail against this protege of my mother-in-law, and told everything to the Emperor, who could not decide to take a position against his mother’s will – I reached for the utmost and said that I could no longer stand by – something would have to happen! Either Gondrecourt [the tutor] goes, or I go.”6 Franz Joseph surrendered.

Elisabeth made sure that Rudolf had a thorough physical examination by a new physician, Dr Widerhofer, and she appointed Joseph Latour as his new tutor. He had similar views to Elisabeth, and she trusted him. As of now, Rudolf’s academic education trumped his military education. As a result, Rudolf came to have the same views as his mother, even though she was still barely around. Nevertheless, he began to idolize his mother. A lady-in-waiting wrote, “The Crown Prince’s eyes glowed. He was thrilled to be with his mother, whom he worships… He is very like his mother, in particular, he has her charm as well as her brown eyes.”7 He remained forever grateful that she had rescued him from the brutal military training.

Part two coming soon.

The post The Year of Empress Elisabeth – Sisi & Rudolf (Part one) appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Book News September 2022

*contains affiliate links*

Ena and Bee: Queen Victoria’s Spanish Granddaughters 

Hardcover – 28 May 2022 (UK) & 7 September 2022 (US)

Princess Victoria Eugenia (Ena) of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice (Bee) of Saxe-Coburg, granddaughters of Queen Victoria of England, married into the Spanish royal family. In 1906, Ena became the consort of King Alfonso XIII, who had been sovereign since his birth in 1886. Three years later, Bee married his cousin, Infante Don Alfonso. Ena’s marriage proved unhappy with the ill-health of her haemophiliac sons and her husband’s infidelities. The king abdicated in 1931, and they led separate lives in exile until he died in 1941. Bee and her husband Ali were more popular, although personal differences between them and the king resulted in their temporary exile for the first years of their marriage; they later returned to Spain, staying there for the rest of their lives. Bee died in 1966 and Ena three years later. This dual biography, written by Ana de Sagrera with additional material from Doña Beatriz, Bee’s granddaughter, looks in depth at the friendship of the mutually supportive cousins against the often turbulent background of twentieth-century Spanish politics.

In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters

Paperback – 20 September 2022 (US & UK)

The vibrant, sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa—one of the most renowned women rulers in history—and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.

Secrets of Royal Women: Fascinating Biographies of Princesses, Queens, Duchesses, and other Regal Women 

Paperback – 13 September 2022 (US) & 13 October 2022 (UK)

Enjoy this engaging collection of biographical vignettes highlighting the secret lives of royal women like Queen Anne, Queen Noor, Princess Grace Kelly, and many other phenomenal women.

Off with Her Head: Three Thousand Years of Demonizing Women in Power 

Hardcover – 6 September 2022 (US & UK)

New York Times bestseller Eleanor Herman, author of Sex with Kings and Sex with Presidents, returns with another work of popular history, exploring the history of misogyny against women with power from Cleopatra to Kamala Harris.

Princess Mary: The First Modern Princess 

Paperback – 1 September 2022 (UK)

From her dedication to the war effort to her role as the family peacemaker during the Abdication Crisis, Mary was the princess who redefined the title for the modern age. In the first biography in decades, Elisabeth Basford offers a fresh appraisal of Mary’s full and fascinating life.

The Tudors in Love: The Courtly Code Behind the Last Medieval Dynasty 

Paperback – 1 September 2022 (UK)

In this groundbreaking history, Sarah Gristwood reveals the way courtly love made and marred the Tudor dynasty. From Henry VIII declaring himself as the ‘loyal and most assured servant’ of Anne Boleyn to the poems lavished on Elizabeth I by her suitors, the Tudors re-enacted the roles of the devoted lovers and capricious mistresses first laid out in the romances of medieval literature. The Tudors in Love dissects the codes of love, desire and power, unveiling romantic obsessions that have shaped the history of this nation.

Princesses on the Wards: Royal Women in Nursing Through Wars and Revolutions 

Paperback – 1 September 2022 (UK)

Queens and princesses have always shown care and compassion, but many went much further. They were not afraid to roll
up their sleeves, work in wards or help in field hospitals and operating theatres, despite their sheltered upbringings. Through
wars and revolutions across Europe, their experiences were similar to those of thousands of other nurses, but this is the first time that their involvement in nursing and the extent of their influence on the profession has been detailed in full.

Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen 

Hardcover – 30 September 2022 (UK) & 30 November 2022 (US)

 In this magnificently illustrated book, we see her birthplace at Greenwich Palace, her childhood homes, her prison in the Tower of London, the palaces she lived in, ruins of stately homes she visited, such as Gorhambury House, Kenilworth House, Upnor Castle and the Elizabethan town walls at Berwick, the many fortifications built during her reign to defend her realm, through to her final resting place in Westminster Abbey.

Mortal Monarchs: 1000 Years of Royal Deaths 

Hardcover – 29 September 2022 (UK & US)

How the monarchs of England and Scotland met their deaths has been a wonderful mixture of violence, infections, overindulgence and occasional regicide. In Mortal Monarchs, medical historian Dr Suzie Edge examines 1,000 years of royal deaths to uncover the plots, accusations, rivalries, and ever-present threat of poison that the kings and queens of old faced.

The Beauforts: Lineage, Ambition and Obligation 1373-1510 

Hardcover – 15 September 2022 (UK) & 15 January 2023 (US)

Four bastard children of John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine Swynford vigorously made their way in the world despite their questionable origin, and when all four were retrospectively declared legitimate, they were each set on course for advancement. Following the coup in 1399, when their half-brother became King Henry IV, the Beauforts were placed at the centre of government, and for three generations, they served the Lancastrian monarchy in its grandiose ambitions and in its decline to eventual extinction.

She is But a Woman: Queenship in Scotland 1424–1463 

Paperback – 1 September 2022 (UK)

She is but a Woman, the first in-depth study of medieval Scottish queens, investigates the relationship between gender and power in the medieval Scottish court by exploring the art of queenship as practised by Joan Beaufort and Mary of Guelders, queens of James I and James II.

The post Book News September 2022 appeared first on History of Royal Women.

Netflix’s The Empress Trailer

With just over a month to go until the worldwide release of the new Netflix series The Empress about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Netflix has released a trailer.

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The Year of Empress Elisabeth – Franz Joseph & Sisi (Part two)

Read part one here.

In the early years of their marriage, Franz Joseph was deeply in love with his wife and Elisabeth no doubt returned those feelings. Three children followed in quick succession: Sophie (born 1855 – died young), Gisela (born 1856) and Crown Prince Rudolf (born 1858). However, it soon became clear that Elisabeth was not suited to the role of Empress. The pregnancies had exhausted her body, and she recovered very slowly from Rudolf’s difficult birth. She also showed signs of postpartum depression and nervous exhaustion.1 Her coughing fits became more frequent, and she also became severely anaemic after refusing to eat. She often fell into crying fits that would not stop, and to calm her nerves, she took physical exercise to the extreme. She rode and walked for hours, jumped obstacles to the point of exhaustion and did gymnastics.

The death of her eldest daughter made Elisabeth withdraw from the world. She wept for weeks, refused all food and became utterly despondent. She paid no attention to Gisela, and her mother and sisters were summoned to Vienna to help cheer her up. In 1859, Dr Seeburger wrote that Elisabeth “did not meet her obligations either as an empress or as a woman; though she was essentially idle, her contacts with her children were casual, and though she sorrows and weeps for the absent noble Emperor, she rides horseback for hours, to the detriment of her health.”2

By 1860 she was so physically ill that she was diagnosed with pulmonary disease though this was received with much scepticism in court. Elisabeth travelled to Madeira for several months. Her mother-in-law merely wrote that she regretted that Elisabeth would be abandoning her children for so long. Her miraculous recovery as soon as she was away from her husband and the Viennese court was perhaps not surprising. Elisabeth and Sophie would always be at odds with one another, especially as Franz Joseph often discussed politics with his mother but did not include Elisabeth, who began to have dissenting opinions. Nevertheless, Franz Joseph, now fearful that Elisabeth might run off again, was being very patient with his wife.

But his patience did not get him what he wanted. Elisabeth spent as much time away from Vienna as possible. The birth of their fourth child Marie Valerie in 1868 only brought the couple closer together for a short period of time. The inevitable quarrels often sent Elisabeth packing, and she knew how to dominate Franz Joseph. He continued to adore her and was afraid to make demands on her. As they grew older, their lives became completely different, and the love from their youth was definitely over. Elisabeth often complained of his lack of sensitivity.

The death of Crown Prince Rudolf made Elisabeth even more desolate. Marie Valerie wrote, “She says Papa is over it and her ever-increasing sorrow was becoming a burden to him, he does not understand her and rues the day when she first saw him, to his misfortune.”3 Franz Joseph had more easily come to terms with his son’s death, and he had found support in his mistress Katharina Schratt – a relationship that had been encouraged by Elisabeth. Her niece Amalie wrote, “As so often in earlier times, I had occasion to notice once again that, without intending to, Aunt Sisi and Franz Joseph hurt each other so easily. He cannot understand her extraordinary, fiery nature, while she lacks all understanding for his simple character and practical turn of mind. And yet he loves her so much.”4 Marie Valerie suffered from her parents’ unhappiness and wrote, “I tell myself in the deepest sorrow that this heavy suffering instead of bringing… my parents closer together, has separated them even more (because neither understands the pain of the other).”5

Franz Joseph was deeply concerned for his wife’s health as she repeatedly went on starvation diets and exercised to the extreme. He wrote to Katharina Schratt, “Should you be frightened at her quite bad appearance, I beg you not to let it show, not to speak very much with the Empress about her health, but if that is unavoidable, to cheer her up, but especially not recommended to her any new cure and new system. You will find the Empress very dull, very sickly, and in an especially depressed mood. You can imagine how worried I am.”6

The assassination of his wife hit Franz Joseph hard, but he did not lose his composure. Marie Valerie wrote, “But even then, he did not lose his composure, and he quickly regained the calm he had shown after Rudolf’s death.” He later told her, “You do not know how much I loved this woman.”7 There weren’t many letters in Elisabeth’s papers, but she had saved Franz Joseph’s letter from about 1891. Marie Valerie wrote that seeing “how the relationship between my parents became better, increasingly intimate, how in the final years, there no more instances of even passing ill feelings.”8

Franz Joseph survived his wife for 18 years. He died on 21 November 1916 at the age of 86. He had outlived several heirs and was succeeded by his grandnephew, who became Emperor Charles I. He would be the last Emperor of Austria.

Photo by Moniek Bloks

Franz Joseph, Elisabeth and Rudolf are buried side by side in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

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The Year of Empress Elisabeth – Franz Joseph & Sisi (Part one)

The future Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria was born on 18 August 1830 as the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, the third son of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. As such, he was not a direct heir to the throne, but his uncle Ferdinand I had up to twenty epileptic attacks a day and was unable to father children with his wife, Maria Anna of Savoy. Thus, his eventual succession seemed to be in the cards. His mother, Sophie, certainly hoped for it, while his father seemed less inclined to want to rule.

Franzi became Sophie’s pride and joy, and she supplied him with a royal household befitting his station. Several children were to follow: Maximilian in 1832, Karl Ludwig in 1833, Maria Anna in 1835 (died young) and Ludwig Viktor in 1842. Baroness Maria von Sturmfeder was selected as a governess, and she took care of the children until they were six years old.

Franz Joseph spent most of his childhood in Vienna, though some summers were spent in Bad Ischl. Sophie taught her son to read, and his grandfather began teaching him Italian. Franz Joseph was quite distressed when his grandfather died in 1835, leaving the throne to his uncle Ferdinand.

At the age of six, Count Heinrich Bombelles was appointed as his tutor, and an intense education regime began. Starting at 13 hours a week, this quickly went up to 32 hours a week and later 50 hours a week. He was often up at six and worked until 9 in the evening. From the age of 12, military training was also included in his daily regime. He was most enthusiastic about it and was very proud when he received the brevet of regimental colonel in the Dragoons for his 13th birthday. He was brought up to be an Emperor, but perhaps he did not realise how soon his reign would actually begin.

The revolution of 1848 changed everything for Franz Joseph. Ferdinand tried to make concessions by granting the press freedom and promising a constitution. However, the revolution flared up again, and in early October 1848, Ferdinand and Maria Anna settled in the Prince-Archbishop’s residence in Olomouc. Prince Felix Schwarzenberg was appointed Minister-President of the Austrian Empire, and he worked behind the scenes with Archduchess Sophie, who now saw her chance to place her son on the throne. She persuaded her unambitious husband to waive his succession rights in favour of her son. On 2 December 1848, at the residence in Olomouc, Ferdinand abdicated the throne as his nephew and successor knelt before him. Maria Anna bent down to him to pull him close, hugged him and kissed him. Ferdinand told the new Emperor, “God bless you! Be good, and God will protect you.”1 He was still only 18 years old, but he was now the ruler of a vast empire.

The question of his marriage began around 1852 when a few candidates were considered. It became a more pressing matter when Franz Joseph survived an assassination attempt. Sophie invited her sister Ludovika and her nieces Helene and Elisabeth to Bad Ischl to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday. On 16 August 1853, Ludovika and her daughters arrived in Bad Ischl, but the visit was off to a bad start with their luggage missing, and they were still dressed in black mourning clothes. Nevertheless, the women were invited to tea by Sophie, and it was at this tea that they would also meet the Emperor. It was love at first sight for Franz Joseph, but his chosen bride was Helene’s younger sister. Sophie later wrote, “He beamed, and you know his face can beam when he is happy. The dear little one did not suspect the deep impression she had made on Franzi. Until the moment her mother spoke to her about it, she was filled by nothing but the shyness and timidity inspired in her by the many around her.”2

The following evening at the ball, Helene was dressed in a white silk gown, which complemented her complexion much more than the black mourning clothes. The Emperor danced the cotillion with Elisabeth and presented her with his nosegay. Elisabeth later said that she did not realise the significance of it and that it had made her feel self-conscious.3

On the Emperor’s actual birthday the following day, he had asked his mother to enquire if Elisabeth “would have him.” And while Elisabeth burst into tears upon being asked, she vowed to do everything she could do to make him happy. She exclaimed, “I love the Emperor so much! If only he were not the Emperor!”4 Sophie later wrote, “That is what intimidates her – her future position. The Emperor was literally enraptured when I told him these moving words by his bride since they express such deep and unassuming understanding for him.”5 Elisabeth’s mother later commented, “One does not send the Emperor of Austria packing.”6

Ludovika reported to Sophie that Elisabeth had accepted the Emperor’s proposal. On the 19th, Franz Joseph appeared in Elisabeth’s room in the hotel and was allowed to be alone with her. Ludovika later wrote, “I left him alone with Sisi, since he wanted to speak to her himself, and when he came back to my room, he looked quite pleased, quite cheerful, and she did too – as is proper for a happy bride.”7

On 24 April 1854, at 7 o’clock in the evening, Elisabeth and Franz Joseph were married in the Augustinerkirche in Vienna. Elisabeth wore a gown of white and silver, strewn with myrtle blossom and an opal and diamond crown. She was led up the aisle by her mother and her soon-to-be mother-in-law. At the end of the gala banquet, the bride and groom were led to Elisabeth’s rooms. Archduchess Sophie wrote, “Ludovika and I led the young bride to her rooms. I left her with her mother and stayed in the small room next to the bedroom until she was in bed. Then I fetched my son and led him to his young wife, whom I saw once more, to wish her a good night. She hid her pretty face, surrounded by the masses of her beautiful hair, in her pillow, as a frightened bird hides in its nest.”8 Due to a lack of privacy, we know that the actual consummation did not take place until the third night.

Part two coming soon.

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The Year of Empress Elisabeth – The engagement in Bad Ischl

On 18 August 1853, a 15-year-old girl changed Austrian history when she became the fiance of her 23-year-old first cousin, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, was a shy girl who had grown up relatively carefree and without much care for protocol.

Her mother, Ludovika, had already been searching for a suitable husband for her second daughter, but cautious enquiries into the Saxon court had not led to an engagement. Elisabeth was the younger sister of Helene, who was not only considered to be more beautiful but also better educated. Franz Joseph’s mother, Sophie, was Ludovika’s sister, and she had initially set her sights on a Hohenzollern match. Franz Joseph fell in love with Princess Anna of Prussia, a niece of the Prussian King, but she was already engaged. Her next target was Princess Sidonie of Saxony, who turned out to be sickly, and she did not please Franz Joseph. Her third target became Bavaria, preferably one of the daughters of her sister. Though it has been said that Helene was specifically planned as the intended fiance, there is no evidence in their correspondence. If there had been a plan, it went terribly awry anyway.

Sophie invited Ludovika, Helene and her younger sister Elisabeth to Bad Ischl to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday. On 16 August 1853, Ludovika and her daughters arrived in Bad Ischl, but the visit was off to a bad start with their luggage missing, and they were still dressed in black mourning clothes. Nevertheless, the women were invited to tea by Sophie, and it was at this tea that they would also meet the Emperor. It was love at first sight for the Emperor, but his chosen bride was Helene’s younger sister. Sophie later wrote, “He beamed, and you know his face can beam when he is happy. The dear little one did not suspect the deep impression she had made on Franzi. Until the moment her mother spoke to her about it, she was filled by nothing but the shyness and timidity inspired in her by the many around her.”1

The following evening at the ball, Helene was dressed in a white silk gown, which complemented her complexion a lot more than the black mourning clothes. The Emperor danced the cotillion with Elisabeth and presented her with his nosegay. Elisabeth later said that she did not realise the significance of it and that it had made her feel self-conscious.2

On the Emperor’s actual birthday the following day, he had asked his mother to enquire if Elisabeth “would have him.” And while Elisabeth burst into tears upon being asked, she vowed to do everything she could do to make him happy. She exclaimed, “I love the Emperor so much! If only he were not the Emperor!”3 Sophie later wrote, “That is what intimidates her – her future position. The Emperor was literally enraptured when I told him these moving words by his bride since they express such deep and unassuming understanding for him.”4 Elisabeth’s mother later commented, “One does not send the Emperor of Austria packing.”5

Ludovika reported to Sophie that Elisabeth had accepted the Emperor’s proposal. On the 19th, Franz Joseph appeared in Elisabeth’s room in the hotel and was allowed to be alone with her. Ludovika later wrote, “I left him alone with Sisi, since he wanted to speak to her himself, and when he came back to my room, he looked quite pleased, quite cheerful, and she did too – as is proper for a happy bride.”6

Elisabeth later bitterly commented, “Marriage is an absurd arrangement. One is sold as a 15-year-old child and makes a vow one does not understand and then regrets for 30 years or more, and which one can never undo again.”7

On 24 August, the Wiener Zeitung published the official announcement of the engagement. The wedding was planned for the following year, in April.

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The Year of Empress Elisabeth – Sisi and the etiquette

As a newly married Empress, Elisabeth reluctantly began to follow court protocol while lamenting the loss of her former “carefree, innocent existence of Possenhofen.”1 Shortly before her wedding, she had been given an intense course of study, which had included protocol and formalities. But Elisabeth had little interest in the formalities that raised her new family above the “ordinary mortals.”2

Elisabeth and her mother-in-law Sophie soon came into conflict over the smallest things. For example, Elisabeth refused to give away her shoes after only wearing them once, and she did not want the unfamiliar waiting women dressing her.3 Elisabeth’s new household was headed by the 56-year-old Countess Sophie Esterházy, who was a stickler for etiquette and also a close confidante of Elisabeth’s mother-in-law. The Countess always reminded her of her position and the right of precedence of her visitors. Elisabeth wrote, “It was so boring having to remember who was the most important, and rationing one’s words accordingly.”4 Elisabeth had taken an immediate dislike towards the Countess.

Even at her own wedding, Elisabeth was scrutinised. She had been too timid to make conversation, but according to protocol, no one was allowed to speak to the Empress unless they were responding to questions. The Countess finally intervened and requested the ladies to say a few words to Elisabeth. Then Elisabeth spotted her cousin Adelgunde and Hildegard of Bavaria in the crowd and went in to hug them. It was her mother-in-law who sternly reminded her that the protocol – the kiss on the hand of the Empress – was to be observed. Elisabeth tried to protest, saying, “but we are cousins!”5 For her new husband and mother-in-law, the formalities were already a way of life and were seen as a way to showcase their power. Elisabeth would need to learn to adapt herself. The Countess was never far away to correct her.

Just a few months after the wedding, the novelty of the Empress had worn off. Criticism began to grow about her lack of accomplishments. She had not yet learned the protocol, and she didn’t dance well enough. During Elisabeth’s first pregnancy, she was quite depressed as her mother-in-law made her appear in public over and over. Sophie claimed that it was her duty to show off her stomach so that people could see that she was really pregnant. Elisabeth wrote, “It was awful. Instead, it seemed to me a blessing to be alone and able to weep.”6 However, as Elisabeth grew into mother- and womanhood, the number of critics grew. Even the imperial physician wrote that Elisabeth “did not meet her obligations either as an empress or as a woman; though she was essentially idle, her contacts with her children were casual, and though she sorrows and weeps for the absent noble Emperor, she rides horseback for hours, to the detriment of her health.”7

Another criticised “the Empress’s bearing, because she smoked as she was being driven about, so that I grew truly uneasy at having to hear such things.”8 Even her husband had to remind her of her obligations. He wrote to her, “I beg you, for the love you bear me, pull yourself together, show yourself in the city sometimes, visit institutions.”9 After Elisabeth was diagnosed with “affected lungs” and ordered to Madeira, Elisabeth insisted that the Countess stay behind in Vienna. Archduchess Therese wrote, “Countess Esterházy is being pushed aside strangely. Instead of her, young Mathilde Windisch-Graetz is travelling to Madeira; it is also strange of the latter to leave her little child.”10

However, Elisabeth also began to use the protocol and etiquette to her advantage. When it came to herself, she insisted that the rules governing behaviour to an imperial majesty be observed.11 At the Hungarian palace of Gödöllő, Elisabeth was more herself, and she laid down the law – disregarding rank and protocol, and visitors were selected according to their riding skills.

Her lady-in-waiting wrote, “It cannot be denied that protocol is a very clever invention. Without it, Olympus would have toppled long ago. As soon as the gods show human frailties, they stop standing on their altars, and people stop bending the knee to them. The same is true for the world. But it does not have the happy effect on the images of the deities, and once idolatry no longer serves them, everything goes awry. For they will want to have both.”12

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Mihrimah Sultan – The sun and moon of the Ottoman Empire (Part two)

Read part one here.

In 1553, Mihrimah’s husband would play a role in the downfall of her elder half-brother Mustafa. According to Rüstem, during an offensive by the Persians, there were mutterings that Mustafa should dethrone his father as he was too old to go against the enemy himself. Mustafa refused, despite accepting the reading of the political situation. Suleiman refused to believe the dispatch, which all but accused Mustafa of treason and joined the campaign himself. Mustafa was summoned for a rendezvous with his father, which wasn’t unusual as he had also greeted his two other sons earlier. Mustafa was advised not to go, including by his mother, Mahidevran. Mustafa refused to believe that his father would harm him and entered the tent where his father awaited him. The following horrific scene ended with Mustafa being strangled to death. By the end of the day, Mustafa was ready for burial, and his household had been all but erased. The following outrage was primarily aimed at Rüstem, who was blamed for convincing Suleiman of his son’s treason. Rüstem was dismissed from his post as grand vizier but escaped execution. He was sent into semi-exile in a palace owned by Mihrimah on the outskirts of Istanbul. Mustafa’s only surviving son Mehmed was also hunted down and strangled.1 It is not clear what role, if any, Mihrimah and her mother played in Mustafa’s downfall. In the end, Suleiman had plenty of reasons to fear Mustafa’s popularity.

Suleiman remained on the campaign following Mustafa’s death, and he spent the winter in Aleppo with Cihangir before continuing the campaign in the spring. Tragically, Cihangir died just three weeks after their arrival in Aleppo. He had fallen ill and died within just four days. Of Mihrimah’s five full brothers, just two now remained alive. Meanwhile, Rüstem was still in semi-exile as Hurrem pleaded for him in letters to her husband. She wrote, “My fortune-favoured, my happiness… Rüstem Pasha is your slave. Do not withhold your noble favour from him, my fortune-favoured. Do not listen to what anyone says. Let it be for the sake of your slave Mihrimah, my fortune-favoured, my emperor, for your noble sake, and for my, your slave’s, sake too, my prosperous sultan.”2 It was too soon to even consider reinstating his son-in-law. Suleiman would remain on campaign until July 1555. Just one month later, Rüstem was restored to his position as grand vizier.

By then, the health of Mihrimah’s mother, Hurrem, had started to decline. Hurrem Sultan died on 15 April 1558, and the day before, Suleiman had reportedly sworn to her “by the soul of his father Selim that he would never approach another woman.”3 Hurrem had been “unable to recover from the illness she had been suffering for quite a while and she was also stricken with malaria and colic.”4 It is not clear if Mihrimah was with her mother when she died, though she was reported as being at her palace in Istanbul a week earlier.

Mihrimah was widowed in 1561, and after her husband’s death, Mihrimah moved into the Old Palace and became a close companion of her father. She became his intimate adviser and often sent him news if he was away from Istanbul. Mihrimah was also known for having commissioned two mosque complexes, at Üsküdar and Edirnekapı. She was the first Princess to commission a mosque complex in Istanbul. She also supervised the construction of the mosques commissioned for her husband and his brother. Her father supported the commissions and perhaps also helped fund them. She continued to commission pious foundations during the final years of her father’s reign and throughout her widowhood. She was an extremely wealthy widow and was possibly even wealthier than the sultan.

The rivalry between her two surviving brothers came to a head during their father’s final years. Suleiman ordered both princes to be transferred to posts far away from Istanbul to prevent either from attempting a coup. Eventually, Bayezid began to rally an army and Selim was given permission by his father to do the same. Bayezid lost the Battle of Konya and fled to Iran with four of his sons. However, he was kept as a hostage, and Suleiman had to pay a ransom to free his son but declared him a rebel at the same time. In July 1562, Bayezid and his sons were handed over to Selim’s head sergeant at arms and were immediately strangled to death. Bayezid’s fifth son, still an infant, was hunted down and killed as well. Mihrimah had been sending Bayezid money and later confessed that she “had done this to execute the will of the mother, who had arranged this in her testament.”5

Mihrimah learned of her brother’s death during the triple wedding of Selim’s three eldest daughters and showed “enormous expressions of grief” during the festivities.6 Mihrimah had been devoted to Bayezid, even though he had seemed destined to lose the power struggle.

Her father died on 7 September 1566 in Hungary, and Mihrimah’s only surviving brother Selim made his way to Belgrade, where the army awaited him. However, he and Mihrimah managed to reconcile their differences, and she lived to see the beginning of her nephew Murad III’s reign. She died on 25 January 15787 and was buried in her father’s tomb, perhaps as a special tribute to her exalted status.

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Mihrimah Sultan – The sun and moon of the Ottoman Empire (Part one)

Mihrimah Sultan was born in the fall of 1522 as the second child and first daughter of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hurrem Sultan, also known as Roxelana. Her father was away for much of the pregnancy and her subsequent birth and only returned home in February 1523. Mihrimah means “sun and moon” or “moon of the suns” in Persian.

Over the next few years, Mihrmah and her elder brother Mehmed were joined in the nursery by four more brothers – Selim, Abdullah, Bayezid and Cihangir. This in itself was an enormous break with tradition. However, he did have an elder son named Mustafa with Mahidevran Hatun. Hurrem’s rise to favourite was unprecedented and he eventually freed her and married her around 1533. However, this domestic bliss was disturbed by the death of young Abdullah as a toddler, and Chihangir was born with what appears to have been a deformity of the shoulder.

Mihrimah grew up in the harem with her mother and brothers, knowing that she would one day be called to marry one of her father’s favourites and to serve as a link between him and a powerful administrator. Her education would have been alongside the women in the harem who were being trained to eventually marry men of the administrative elite. Her letters to her father prove that she was literate.

While Mihrimah’s brothers would leave home eventually, Mihrimah remained behind as a companion of her mother. She was known to be devoted to both her parents and treasured by them. Mihrimah would have received lessons from her mother on her dynastic responsibilities and would become one of the greatest Ottoman philanthropists. Both Mihrimah and her mother were also known for their needlework.

At the age of 17, Mihrimah was married to Rüstem Pasha. He was of Croatian origin, and he had successfully worked his way up through the ranks. He had served as governor of Diyarbakir and Anatolia. Shortly before their wedding, Rüstem was appointed as third vizier, which also meant that he would reside in Istanbul – for now at least. Perhaps her parents were not ready to see her leave just yet, or perhaps Mihrimah herself put her foot down. Her husband had been chosen for her, and it was unlikely that it was a love match. He was also twice her age and not her mother’s first choice for her. Reportedly, Hurrem had her eye on the governor of Cairo, who was more handsome. Rüstem reportedly also spread the rumour that the governor of Cairo was infected with syphilis.1

In theory, Mihrimah, as a virgin, had the right to refuse the husband selected for her by her guardian, by Islamic law. However, in the end, she consented to the match, under perhaps a great deal of pressure. She would retain the privilege of being able to divorce her husband if the match turned out badly. Just two years after Mihrimah was married, her aunt Shah Sultan divorced her husband after he was physically violent towards her. Another one of her aunts, Fatma Sultan, had divorced her husband in 1520 after it turned out that he was more interested in men.

Mihrimah’s wedding took place at the same time as the circumcision ceremony of her brothers Bayezid and Cihangir, and the festivities lasted for around 15 days. They went on to have two children together, a daughter named Humashah and a son named Osman. Mihrimah visited her parents whenever she wished, but her husband was not accorded the same privilege. She “goes frequently to the palace of the Grand Signor to meet with her mother.”2 Mihrimah was not happy that her husband was not accorded the same privilege. The Venetian ambassador wrote, “I have learned through a reliable channel that they have tried many times to bring it about that Rustan (sic) might enter the palace of the sultan on such a familial basis as Ibrahim used to; the sultan has responded that committing folly once is enough.”3 Ibrahim was a grand vizier who had been executed.

Mihrimah and Rüstem’s daughter Humashah was close in age to Humashah, the only child of her brother Mehmed, and they may have been educated together as they grew up.4 Rüstem became the second vizier in 1541 and grand vizier in 1544. He held this position until his death in 1561, except for 1553-1555, when he was briefly dismissed.

Mihrimah also had an elder half-brother by the name of Mustafa, whose mother was Mahidevran. As the eldest son, he seemed like the most likely candidate to inherit the empire. This came with considerable risk to Hurrem’s children as it was an Ottoman practice that the successful candidate for the throne should execute his brothers to prevent unrest. Cihangir reportedly believed that Mustafa would spare him because of his deformity, but his father told him, “My son, Mustafa will become sultan and will take the lives of all of you.”5 Thus, promoting one of Mihrimah’s brothers for the succession was of vital importance. The most favoured to succeed was her eldest full brother Mehmed but he tragically died of natural causes in 1543. This left Selim and Bayezid, with Cihangir not being a viable option due to his disability.

When King Sigismund the Old of Poland died in 1548, both Hurrem and Mihrimah sent letters of condolence to the new King Sigismund II Augustus and saw Mihrimah emerging as her mother’s political protege. Mihrimah also dispatched a set of gifts intended for his wife, Barbara Radziwiłł. Her familiar tone in these letters suggests that she may have been in contact with them before.

Part two coming soon.

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